Special recognition awards winners announced

Grove City, Ohio – The connections of 2022 Little Brown Jug champion Bythemissal (Downbytheseaside), 2022 Breeders Crown champion Pebble Beach, Virgil Morgan Jr., the trainer of 2022 Breeders Crown champion Grace Hill and owner Joe Sbrocco will be presented the 2022 Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Special Recognition Award at the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 14.

Owners of Bythemissal Burke Racing Stable, Eric Good, Rich Lombardo Racing and Weaver Buscemi and breeder Stephen Dey, lll are being recognized for the extensive success the 3-year-old pacer achieved during 2022.

Ohio-bred Bythemissal hit the board in all 16 starts, winning 13 races including the 2022 Little Brown Jug, the Ohio Sires Stakes Championship, the Carl Milstein Memorial and the Delvin Miller Adios.  Bythemissal earned $1,165,925 in 2022.

Patricia Stable, Joe Sbrocco, Country Club Acres, and Laexpressfoderadeovolente owners of Pebble Beach and breeder Brittany Farms are being recognized for the extensive success the 3-year-old pacer achieved during 2022.

Ohio-bred Pebble Beach hit the board in 17 of 18 races, winning 10 races including the Breeders Crown, North American Cup and The Tattersalls Stakes. Pebble Beach was the second-richest horse in the sport, earning $1,359,625. Pebble Beach was named the 2022 3-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

Ohio Hall of Fame trainer Virgil Morgan Jr., conditioner of 2022 Breeders Crown champion Grace Hill will also be recognized for his success with the mare in 2022.

Under Morgan’s training, Grace Hill won seven of 10 races including the 2022 Breeders Crown in a stakes equaling record performance and the TVG Mares Final.  In 2022 Grace Hill won eight of 21 races and earned $427,895.

Sbrocco, of Brecksville, Ohio, started in the equine business in 1970.  Over the past 52 years, Sbrocco has owned nearly 600 horses and currently has ownership of 125 horses.

The past year has been nothing short of a dream racing season for Sbrocco. He was a part of 13 ownership groups whose horses earned more than $100,000 with six earning over $250,000. Sbrocco co-owns 2022 Breeders Crown champion Pebble Beach ($1.3M), I Did It Myway ($729,745), Volume Eight ($432,232), and Night Hawk ($352,988). Two of his horses, Pebble Beach and Volume Eight were named respective divisional Dan Patch Award winners by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

by Frank Fraas, for the OHHA